It was a historic day: On December 2, BPJ Partner Tannera George Gibson began her term as the first African-American female President of the Memphis Bar Association in its 147-year history. (Click HERE to read the Daily Memphian story and HERE for a story from WREG-TV Channel 3.)
She is pictured at the firm in front of a portrait of BPJ and Memphis icon, attorney Lucius Burch, whose 1963 letter to the members of that same organization advocated for removing the adjective “white” from the qualifications for membership. He wrote: “We cannot expect to preserve the (favored) image (of lawyers) or deserve it to be preserved if we inhibit human liberty rather than advance it.” (Photo credit: Erick Anderson.)
As Gibson said in her speech at the MBA event: “This moment … is about us progressing to a place where the MBA empowers diverse leaders with diverse experiences and diverse perspectives, in such a way that enables us to innovate, embrace inclusivity, and ‘advance human liberty.’
“It’s the audacity to believe that by bringing diverse voices to the table—to the leadership—we can advance, together.”
We are very proud of Tannera’s leadership both inside the firm and in our profession and wish her all the best during her presidential term.
Congratulations as well to BPJ partner Beth Weems Bradley, who will serve as president of the Memphis Bar Foundation in 2022, BPJ Associate Lani Lester, who will serve as an MBA board member, and BPJ Associate Patrick Hilliard, who is Vice Chair/President-Elect of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association.